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Vision of the Future

Author	Timothy Zahn
Cover Artist	Drew Struzan
Country	USA
Language	English
Era	New Republic
Series	Hand of Thrawn Duology
Galactic Year	19 ABY
Canon	C
Subject(s)	Star Wars
Genre(s)	Science Fiction
Publisher	Bantam Spectra
Released	Hardcover: 1 September 1998 Paperback: 1 September 1999
Media Type	Hardcover & Paperback
Pages	Hardcover: 520 Paperback: 520
Size and Weight	Hardcover: 1.5 x 6.2 x 9.8 inches 1.7 pounds Paperback: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches 11.7 ounces
ISBN	Hardcover: ISBN 0-553-10035-1 Paperback: ISBN 0-553-57879-0
Preceded by	Specter of the Past
Followed by	Fool's Bargain

Vision of the Future is the second and final book in the Hand of Thrawn duology by Timothy Zahn. This, the final Zahn book relating to Grand Admiral Thrawn, takes place 10 years after The Last Command, in 19 ABY.

Admiral Gilad Pellaeon realizes that the Empire, down to only a few sectors, is now fighting a losing battle. He initiates preliminary peace talks, with Princess Leia as the New Republic representative during those.

However, several Imperial officials are vehemently anti-surrender, the most notable being Grand Moff Disra. He hires a con artist, Flim, to impersonate Grand Admiral Thrawn, the idea being that Imperial Forces would rally, and many systems would rejoin the Empire, due to Thrawn's "returning from the dead."

Another Imperial plot is underfoot: to provoke civil war in the New Republic. This involves the Caamas Document, which has been altered. Camaas was a world destroyed by the Empire shortly after the Clone Wars, and it is revealed in the book that this was made possible by Bothan sabotage of that planet's planetary shield. Various alien races take sides over treatment of the Bothans and what would be justice for Camaas; more than a hundred alien warships gather in orbit over the Bothans' homeworld of Bothawui. Several of this book's plotlines revolve around major characters seeking an unaltered copy of the Camaas Document, in an attmept to settle the issue.

Han Solo and Lando Calrissian head off to an Imperial base at Bastion in an attempt to find it. Garm Bel Iblis attempts a raid on an Imperial Ubiqtorate base at Yaga Minor.

This is set up by the Empire; it is expected that the confrontation will reach a flash point, and three Imperial Star Destroyers lie in wait to 'finish off' the survivors. Furthermore, an Imperial sabotage team successful knocks out a major section of the Bothawui planetary shield.

Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade successfully sneak into a fortress called the Hand of Thrawn (so called because of its 'four fingers and a thumb' shape. Major secrets are revealed there, including an expedition by Thrawn to the galaxy's Unknown Regions.

A peace treaty is signed at the end of the novel, by Pellaeon and New Republic president Pon Gavrisom.